The book covers the use of life-cycle assessment, risk assessment, and a combined framework of the two in the evaluation of environmental damages and sustainability constraints. The new edition will take into account new developments in the last 10 years and will extend the scope of the book to cover also products.

Life-cycle assessment is a methodology used to evaluate the environmental impacts of a product, process, or service during its life cycle, and risk assessment is a tool to evaluate potential hazards to human health and the environment introduced by pollutant emissions. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals call for, among other objectives, responsible consumption and production by decoupling environmental resource use and environmental impacts from economic growth and human well-being. Life-cycle assessment and risk assessment are both analytical system approaches that allow scientists and other decision makers to address these issues and objectives according to the current understanding of environmental mechanisms. This book is the first attempt to illustrate the existing interfaces between life-cycle assessment and risk assessment and to indicate options for further integration of both tools. The second edition: Focuses on sustainability Considers new developments in life-cycle assessment and environmental risk assessment over the last ten years at the international level Introduces broader concepts and discussions on integrative versus the complementary use of life-cycle and risk assessments Extends the scope of integrated life-cycle and risk assessments to critical raw materials Includes more case studies and discusses engineered nanomaterials Featuring contributions from leading experts, Integrated Life-Cycle and Risk Assessment for Industrial Processes and Products is a great reference for graduate students and professionals in environmental management and intends to catalyze communication between life-cycle assessment and risk assessment experts and scientists in academia, industry, and governmental agencies. The practical format of the book—illustrated with flowcharts, examples, exercises, and concrete applications—makes it a useful manual for analyzing situations and making decisions.

This book covers the use of life-cycle assessment, risk assessment, and a combined framework of the two in the estimation of environmental damage, providing explanations of methods and descriptions in the environmental analysis of industrial processes. The book opens by examining environmental strategies, then places life-cycle and risk assessment

Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (ELCA) that was developed about three decades ago demands a broadening of its scope to include lifecycle costing and social aspects of life cycle assessment as well, drawing on the three-pillar or ‘triple bottom line’ model of sustainability, which is the result of the development of the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA). LCSA refers to the evaluation of all environmental, social and economic negative impacts and benefits in decision-making processes towards more sustainable products throughout their life cycle. Combination of environmental and social life cycle assessments along with life cycle costing leads to life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA). This book highlights various aspects of life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA).

The Guidelines for Social Life Cycle Assessment of Products provides a map, a skeleton and a flash light for stakeholders engaging in the assessment of social and socio-economic impacts of products life cycle. The map describes the context, the key concepts, the broader field in which tools and techniques are getting developed and their scope of application. The skeleton presents key elements to consider and provide guidance for the goal and scope, inventory, impact assessment and interpretation phases of a social life cycle assessment. The flash light highlights areas where further research is needed. Social Life Cycle Assessment is a technique available to account for stories and inform systematically on impacts that otherwise would be lost in the vast and fast moving sea of our modern world. May it help stakeholders to effectively and efficiently engage to improve social and socio-economic conditions of production and consumption

Life Cycle Assessment

This book offers a detailed presentation of the principles and practice of life cycle impact assessment. As a volume of the LCA compendium, the book is structured according to the LCIA framework developed by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)passing through the phases of definition or selection of impact categories, category indicators and characterisation models (Classification): calculation of category indicator results (Characterisation); calculating the magnitude of category indicator results relative to reference information (Normalisation); and converting indicator results of different impact categories by using numerical factors based on value-choices (Weighting). Chapter one offers a historical overview of the development of life cycle impact assessment and presents the boundary conditions and the general principles and constraints of characterisation modelling in LCA. The second chapter outlines the considerations underlying the selection of impact categories and the classification or assignment of inventory flows into these categories. Chapters three through thirteen exploreall the impact categories that are commonly included in LCIA, discussing the characteristics of each followed by a review of midpoint and endpoint characterisation methods, metrics, uncertainties and new developments, and a discussion of research needs. Chapter-length treatment is accorded to Climate Change; Stratospheric Ozone Depletion; Human Toxicity; Particulate Matter Formation; Photochemical Ozone Formation; Ecotoxicity; Acidification; Eutrophication; Land Use; Water Use; and Abiotic Resource Use. The final two chapters map out the optional LCIA steps of Normalisation and Weighting.